Let Them Share!

One of the first lessons kids learn from parents and
teachers is to share. So, from preschool on up, kids often give away snacks or
offer friends crayons, if only because it is the right thing to do. But of
course, feeling rewarded emotionally by giving makes us more inclined to do it
again, psychologists note. Researchers, whose report is published in Frontiers
in Psychology, decided to investigate this question by studying preschoolers in
China, and their findings are all sorts of eye-opening.

Lead researcher Dr. Zhen Wu and colleagues observed 3- and
5-year-old children who were split up into two groups. The first group shared
stickers with their peers voluntarily, and the second group did it, because
they felt obligated to. The researchers studied the kids' facial expressions to
measure their happiness. As it turned out, both 3- and 5-year-olds were happier
when they gave the stickers away of their own accord versus keeping them to
themselves.

Of course it's pretty obvious that young children are going
to be less psyched to give something away when they're being forced to do so.
There's also the fact that even if they aren't being told to share, they may
still feel pressure to do so. Still, this study may be helpful to parents and
preschool teachers who want to promote sharing among little ones. After all,
learning that giving makes you feel good is bound to encourage kids to do it
again and again!